Beadle's Dime Library No. 263 — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

24. | seemed an enemy to be feared; the next, Abe was upon him like a tiger, his long fingers grasping at his throat. | They went down together; there was a brief struggle, and then the Destroyer arose. The unknown lay motionless, his glassy eyes staring at the ceiling, . ‘* Ho will do no further harm; come on!” said yen | Iron-Armed Abe in a somber voice. alle They emerged into the outer air and hastened ly along the street, All instinctively looked back. ‘| Lights were visible at most of the windows, Bit and human heads were seen at some of them. H Suddenly Griff uttered a hoarse cry and | turned back. Doctor Rube was dismayed, but the hunchback eaught the elder man in his i ‘arms and ran lightly. ae But whoever he had»seen he was not per- aan mitted to see further; Doctor Rube and Ned | added their efforts and he was hurried away from the beehive of their enemies, CHAPTER XXX. A STRANGE. ENCOUNTER, Ir was no easy task to control Griff in his ; resent mood. He declared that he had seen Hi). i orola at one of the upper windows, and was ' wild to return and rescue ber, but he was sensi- 1 ao ble enouy;h to proceed to no desperate measures and they hurried bim along. Even he saw that the red lights run up the 5 flag-poles, as they had been once before in Duc- aa tor Rabe’s recollection, meant danger for them ( all, and he yielded to the argument that it was Ht wholly improbable that Norola sbould be in the at. City of the Desert. 4 Without the waste of many words it was un- tt derstood that all should go for the time to the Black Pit, and Rube, who had been annoyed at the delay in leaving the village when he was first there, was surprised at the quickness with which Iron-Armed Abe took them out of it on _ _ the present occasion. Golden Creek was crossed, the base of the mountain reached, and the ascent begun With- out adventure,, i ‘* Fools!” said the hunchback, looking behind i them. ‘‘They are searching everywhere, and |: ** Let me go!” cried Griff, wildly. ‘‘ I saw ber il. at the window; | tell youl saw her. Norola! bea Norola!” es Pee: —- eS 2S -_ _ in oownieis = EO Pa ee —_ = _——_——~ —_- —~—— _ = wo tee = Xp Lae ee Cees ac ee oo “abit =— — lie it seems they have hopes o sinding those for I whom they seek, Hal! ha! they little know th that Iron-Armed Abe is here. They might as well try to find a will-o’-the- wisp as him!” “I'd druther die than run,” said Griff, gloom- ily. “I tell ye I see’d my leetle gal thar. Don’t tell me I @idn’t; is thar another face in ther world like Norola’s? I tell ye I see’d her!” “Tf I thought so ('d be one to go back,” said Boxfield, uneasily. ‘* Thar ain’t no doubt; I’d sw’ar I see’d her!” Griff persisted. ‘‘She looked outer a wioder an’ her face was skeered an’ feary. She’s b’en Lrougbt byar by that imp 0’ sin, who's got his evileye on her now, but Ill hev his life ef I swim asea 0’ blood ter git it.. Ther man dies who hurts my Norola!” The Destroyer laid his hand on the father’s arm with the gentleness of a child. ‘ Right,” he said, ‘‘ right, my veteran. Kin Diamond shall pay. for all his evil deeds; know bim of old. But, be not too hasty, The whole city is astir and we could do her no good to go bac Trust in me, for I swear she shall be rescued if she is indeed in King Diamond's wer, | PYHis manner calmed the old man, who sub. ‘ mitted with unexpected docility; and the as- cent of the mountain was resumed, Not much further had they gone, however when a figure arose in their path. All their wea i for active work, but a - -woman’s laug and a woman’s words fell upon is their ears, | ; ‘*Ha! hal where go ye, gentle folks?” de- pe manded a voice in an upna key. ‘‘ Do you ake flee from the fire-flies below? See how they | gleam; every house-top has one? But why do | j i - — ooo fh ye flee, Come, let us go and catch a fire-fly.” It was clear she referred to the red si - lights visible from the flag-poles, but Griff | sprung forward and seized her hand, at the g same time uttering a cry: Bt eh “Ther Wild! Ther Wild!” he exclaimed. ot Theexclamation was enough to recall the mad- | ie Micra} Doctor Habe mind and we knew she stood before them. It was a great surprise, | —- partly because he believed she had perished in the Caen ning house, but prncney because of the scores of miles which lay between Jake’s former home and Golden Valley. > Yet, there she was, beyond a doubt, and i laughing merrily in Griff’s hold. ‘“Pve seen you before,” she said. ‘ There’s something familiar about your face, but I can’t tell what. At any rate, im glad to see you. Who are allthese bonny gentlemen?’ Doetor Rube advanced and spoke reassuring- ly, but all of Ned Boxfield’s attention was drawn to Iron-Armed Abe, The strange man was passing his hand over his head as though to _- clear away a mental mist, and with the deepest attention he stared at the deranged woman. He hung.on every word she uttered as though it were a drop of life, and just as Griff suggested ad iPr | 2 Y att a — a a rt = — - Iron-Armed Abe the Hunchback Destr that The Wild be taken to Black Pit he pressed to the front and took ber arm in his broad nd, ** Woman, who are you?” He asked the question in a voice which trembled, yet, withal, in a voice of unexpected gentleness, ‘*Who am I?’ she returned. ‘How do I know? ITvelost myself. Once I had a name, ‘but that was before Lucifer met me. He ground my soul under his heel, and since then —since then—I don’t know who Iam!” She put her hands to her face in a bewildered way, but Iron-Armed Abe, breathing heavily, took them away and pushed the tangled bair back from her forehead. His eyes must have defied even the darkness, for he uttered a cry which was like that of a tigress wounded in de- fense of her young, ‘It is she!” he cried; ‘it. is little Nora! Merciful heaven, it is little Nora!” And then be caught her in his long arms and held her to his mis-shapen form, all the while crying out in a strange way which was so little like that of a human being that it wag hard to classify it; but The Wild, while submitting to the embrace without a word, laughed aloud in her reckless way. a Neitber Doctor Rube, nor Boxfield, nor Griff, could interrupt them, for all felt that Jron- Armed Abe knew what he was about; and the former remembered the mysterious person only referred to by pronoun of whom Abe had spoken to Diamond. Gradually Tue Wild’s laughter died away and she lay silent and motionless in the hunch- back’s arms, He, too, was silent for a time, but he finally raised his head, ‘*Come!” he said, his voice full of soft melody, “* Let us go to Black Pit.” And then they toiled up the mountain, the deranged woman alwere carried in his iron arms. And they who followed commented onl in whispers; even Griff was. prepared to admit that Abe might have a claim stronger than his own. ““Norola said Ther Wild hed found a page outer her old life when she see’d Diamond, an’ now I reckon another hez cropped up, Poor Norola!” Griff could not long keep his mind from the subject nearest his heart. ‘* Be of good cheer,” said Boxfield, ‘‘If Miss Norola is really in this slime-bed of sin she is going to be rescued. I am with you to the eath. And then the two men shook hands and the junior felt that no stern parent would ever stand in his way if he saw fit to make love to Norola. But Black Pit was reached and they prepared to descend, It was unpleasant work for Doc- tor Rube and Ned, who knew nothing of the way, but The Wild was wholly passive in the hands of the hunchback, All reached the bhome.of the strange being safely, and then he outdid himself in making everything copnioxiable for the madwoman, She, however, looked at the gloomy rocks with anything but pleasure and cowered at his side, ** Don't be afraid, Little Nora,” he said, again smoothing her tangled bair, ‘Il am with you and I wil) shield you from all harm. Have no fear, little one; have no fear!” And then the spectators were amazed when he ke into an old, soothing nursery song, such as each one had heard at his mother’s knee, and sung with womanly tenderness. His rare voice bad never been more melodious, and one would have sworn by the scund that a lit- tle child was being husbed to sleep, . The Wild, on her part, grew strangely calm and gentle under his ministrations until her weary eyes closed, ber breathing became deeper and steadier, and she slept, Shehad been hushed to a forgetfulness of earthly trouble as she bad often been in her childhood. sf | The spectators were very silent during this time, for even Griff could not find words to speak of Norola. _Abe’s lullaby was at once strange, uncanny and touching. They waited patientay until The Wild slept, and then he laid er weary head down and stole to their side in a cautious way. His rude face was softened by a new light and he looked strangely gentle. ‘*It is little Nora,” he said, ina whiner Py Little Nora?’ questioned Doctor Rube, a “But we don’t understand; we never heard the name before. Dii you know her once?” The bunchback looked surprised. ‘‘Know her? She is my sister,” he said, simply. They had suspected such might be the case, but it was a surprise, nevertheless, and Griff, at least, was well pleased to find that ‘‘ The Wild had got back another page.” ‘‘Tell me about her, ef you will,” he said. ‘* What’s her full name an’ whar did ye live? What made her wild?” A quick Sheng. sed over the hunchback’s face. It w dark and threatening; he be- came the Destroyer in an instant, and his long one was stretched forth toward the City of the esert, — “What made her mad? Who but King oyer. Diamond? Who else could be so base as ke? Who could come to a happy home and spread destruction? Ay, Diamond it was, and for his work he shall die like.a dog. Look at Little Nora! Does she resemble the pretty child she was when Diamond’s deadly shadow fell at our door?” ‘“‘T take it he did her a.wrong, an’ that’s why ye hate him so,” suggested Griff, patiently. ‘“Ay, he broke her heart,” said the bunch- back, wildly. ‘‘ Listen! Our home was on White Pine Ridge, in California, Our f:ther wasa’Forty-niner; our mother died when Little Nora was a babe, I was twelve years her elder, but I loved her, loved her, loved her. [ was deformed and ugly, while she was as pretty as a violet, but she never turned from me ¢c Idly; she loved me as well as thcugh I was straight as a forest pine. It was a fatal day when our father brought a ycung and bandsome stranger there, for it was Diamond. He had fallen from a cliff, while buniing, and broken bis arm, Would to Heaven it had been bis neck!” The hunchback beat himself on bis breast, and his tears fell fast over his bronzed cheeks, “That was the beginning,” he resumed, after a pause. ‘‘Why should I linger on what fol- lowed? Diamond’s eyes were as keen as bis heart was bad; he saw how pretty was my sis- ter, and he aspired to amuse himself as gallants will with those who know not their fiendish acts. She—Little Nora—unused to the world and as innocent as a mere child, came to be- lieve him a god. She loved, she worsbiped him. I, too, trusted him. I was almost as trustful as she, and I could not see how any one could think evil of Little Nora. I made myself his friend—ah-h-h! his friend /” The words were hissed out in a way which made Ned Boxfield recoil, and again Abe beat bis broad breast in almost ungovernable rage. ‘‘ A few brief, delusive weeks followed. We gave him our best and I taught him to hunt every species of game that roved over White Pine Ridge. He was with Little Nora too much —by far too much, The fool’s paradise passed and Diamond was gone—gone without a word of farewell «xcept the note he left to tell us in half-apologetic words that he was as false as Sa- tan himself, He had gone forever from Little Nora, whom he had taught to love him so well,” ‘* And that’s her,” Griff said, looking at The ild, But Iron-Armed Abe went on Bpneeding!y- ‘ The trail of the serpent was not on her hon- or, for that was founded on a rock, but it was on her heart. She loved him—pretty Little Nora—and his desertion broke her heart. She dishnpemreds and we believed she had drowned herself in Swift-water Run. Our father drooped and died, and I was left alone; alone for ven- geance!” The Destroyer stretched one hand toward Dia~- mond’s city and his facé was full of an awful, but lofty wrath. They comprehended how he had found “ Little Nora ” in the poor, deranged -woman, and though Griff shivered and thought of Norola in the same hands, no one had the heart to urge other matters upon him then, One moment the hunchback st thus, and then heturned and went back to The Wild. He bent over her, touched ber tangled hair anda tear fellon her wrinkled cheek. Then in the dark crater again arose bis lullaby, as though a mother watched, and prayed, and sung over her sleeping child. CHAPTER XXXII, DIAMOND AND NOROLA. THE alarm which sounded through Captain Diamond’s house brought that man out o as though he had been an automaton. He hounded out with a revolver in each hand and stood glaring about likea hunted murderer at bay. Each corner of bis room seemed to con- tain a foe, for the relentless bunt maintained upon him by Iron-Armed Abe bad made hima coward in the midst of his power and splen- or. As he stood thus his black hair was in strong contrast to his pale face and the serpent’s eye glared and glittered as though it mould. aid h to ferret out a hiding foe. | When he saw that he was free from the pres- ence of the only man he feared—the hunchback royer—his expression changed. He became ina moment the cool, brave king of the secret city and, throwing a cloak over his shoulders, he epapee through the door, atside he met Redspur, who seemed on the point of knocking. ‘“* What is it?’ he demanded, imperiously. “There is an alarm,” the Black Rider evenly answered, ‘‘and some of your servants say strangers were in the house, I have scattered the men in every direction to intercept them.” ** And the prisoners?” ‘** Rainbolt has gone to them.” Before more could be said the man last named reappeared, He looked troubled and hesitated, but a stamp of Diamond’s foot recalled him to his senses. ‘‘The two prisoners are gone!” he humbly said, ‘And the guards?” , ) . _ — ee ee eee nicboc ts r\e5 pa “CO a >